This past Sunday I shared the Advent-themed call to worship. I thought it would be fun to share it here. This post is also a little longer, as some of the material was cut for the sake of time. Enjoy!
This is the second Sunday of Advent, the season leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ birth: Christmas. Last week we heard about Hope and Faith. This week focuses on the theme of Peace.
Continue reading “The Advent Promise of Life-Changing Peace”
Surprise. Wonder. To see a great magic trick is an enjoyable experience. It sparks something inside of us. And we want to see more.
This is why a great magic act builds to a grand finale. Start with a few basic tricks, some of the familiar ones, and add a little personal flair or twist to them. Move on to the more complicated and test the boundaries of what people know and expect. But to finish off, give them something to blow their minds and leave them wondering and wanting more.
What about Christmas? The birth of Jesus was not the end of anything. It was not the limit of God’s power to send His Son to become one of us. This impossible move was the opening act, leaving open the door of possibilities.
Continue reading “The “Magic” of Christmas (4) ~ Possibilities”
Every magic trick worth its time leaves us staring. “Wait. What? What just happened?”
Instant replays on television shows like America’s Got Talent help us look at it a second or third time, and sometimes from different angles. But we can’t figure it out. We are amazed and left wondering.
After hearing the shepherds in the streets or finding them at their front door, the residents of Bethlehem must have wondered afterwards, “What just happened? Those guys are all stirred up and it sounds crazy. What does all of this mean?”
Continue reading “The “Magic” of Christmas (3) ~ Wonder”
To help us understand the magic of Christmas we can take a look at what magic invokes in us. Even when we think we understand what is happening in front of us, there are specific emotions and feelings inside of us that help make the moment memorable.
A magic trick often begins with something simple and mundane. Take an ordinary object and do something with or to it. Hide it. Put it in a box. It may be out of sight but is isn’t out of mind. With every act a tension builds.
Just like a child who sees a wrapped Christmas gift under the tree with their name on it. It is hidden, but a similar tension builds as the child imagines what could be inside.
The greater the tension the greater the reaction when the trick turns or the gift opens. And then … Surprise!
Continue reading “The “Magic” of Christmas (2) ~ Surprise”
Our Town recently hung new banners for the Christmas season. We use banners in our downtown area throughout the various seasons and special days of the year.
This year’s Christmas banners invited passersby to “Believe in the magic of Christmas.” Reactions to such a phrase could swing between the dismissive to the outright hostile.
It isn’t too far a stretch, though, to apply the idea of magic to a Christian view of the holiday. It might even open some doors of conversation to share the Hope we have as we near the end of a frightful year.
Continue reading “The “Magic” of Christmas (1) ~ 3 Reactions”It’s a popular tag line this time of year, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” It falls in line with another I see on billboards around the city I live in, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” These are some of the ways we try to remind the world about Jesus at the time when so many other messages distract them from the message of Jesus’ coming.
Unfortunately, it comes across as a bunch of hokey semantics and religious nuttiness. And I don’t if you’ve heard, but a lot of people are allergic to nuts.
According to Google, a cliche is “a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.” Do you think these apply?
After all, even Christians get tired of hearing these things. But it also betrays how little we understand about the coming of God’s Son. Jesus is not the reason for the season. We are.
Continue reading “Do you know the REAL reason for the season?”
Chris MacKinnon 